# Carnuntum Day trip from Vienna to Carnuntum, the Roman capital on the Danube: reconstructed houses and baths, the Heidentor, the museum and the walled town of Hainburg. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/austria/lower-austria/carnuntum · Revisado: 2026-11-12 For four centuries Carnuntum was one of the great Roman cities on the Danube: a legionary camp, a military town and a civil town, capital of the province of Upper Pannonia. Marcus Aurelius spent several war winters here fighting the Marcomanni. Today it is an archaeological park split between two villages, Petronell-Carnuntum and Bad Deutsch-Altenburg, 40 km east of Vienna and halfway to Bratislava. What makes it different from other ruins is that an entire block of the civil town has been rebuilt on its foundations, with the techniques and materials of the period: you walk into a Roman house with its kitchen, painted dining room and underfloor heating, and into a complete public bath. ## How to get there from Vienna By train it is easy and does not depend on the S-Bahn closure: the REX 7 leaves Wien Hauptbahnhof for Wolfsthal and reaches Petronell-Carnuntum in about 45 minutes, every half hour or every hour depending on the time of day. From the station to the Roman quarter is about a 15-minute walk, signposted. For the Museum Carnuntinum, get off at Bad Deutsch-Altenburg, about a 20-minute walk. By the stations and the sites there are nextbike bicycles for getting between them. By car it is about 35 minutes: the A4 towards the airport and Budapest, Fischamend exit, and the B9 towards Hainburg. Each site has free parking. If you are coming from Vienna airport, you are halfway there: Carnuntum is about 25 km east of the terminal, on the same train line. ## What to see in a day Start with the Roman quarter of Petronell, with the House of Lucius, the urban villa and the baths. Allow two hours. 1.5 km to the south, in the middle of the countryside, is the Heidentor, the 4th-century triumphal arch that is the symbol of Carnuntum. After lunch, go to Bad Deutsch-Altenburg: the Museum Carnuntinum, with the city's sculptures and coins, is included in the same day ticket, and the military town amphitheatre is free to enter. The day ticket costs €15 for adults and €8 for ages 6 to 18; under-6s do not pay. If you have the afternoon to spare, continue 5 km to Hainburg an der Donau, the last Austrian town before Slovakia: it preserves almost all of its medieval wall, with the Ungartor and the Fischertor, and the castle ruin above the Danube. From the Braunsberg you can see the river, Bratislava and the Marchfeld plain. With a car, Haydn's birthplace in Rohrau is 10 km to the south. ## Where to eat and sleep There is not much choice and it is worth knowing before you go: in Petronell, the Hotel Marc Aurel is a step from the Roman quarter and has a restaurant with home cooking. In Hainburg, the Haydnstüberl serves lunch in the old town, Sundays too, and the Goldener Anker looks over the Danube. For somewhere with more charm to sleep, the Hotel Altes Kloster occupies a former convent in Hainburg. It can be combined with Schloss Hof, 15 km to the north over the Hainburg bridge, or you can continue to Bratislava. ## Dónde está - Cerca: Schloss Hof and the Marchfeld (a 12.6 km), Bratislava (a 18.6 km · Slovakia), Lake Neusiedl (a 37.3 km), Vienna (a 38.0 km) ## Qué hacer - **The reconstructed Roman quarter of Carnuntum** (2 h · All ages; in summer, hat and water · €15; concession €14; ages 6 to 18, €8; under-6s, free): In the civil-town quarter several complete buildings have been rebuilt on their foundations and with Roman techniques: the House of Lucius, an urban villa with its paintings and heated floors, and a public bath with its cold, warm and hot rooms. You can enter everything, see how cooking and water heating were done, and around them are the streets and excavated foundations. It is open daily from 9:00 to 17:00 in season, from mid-March to mid-November. The day ticket (€15) is also valid for the Museum Carnuntinum. The public guided tours are in German, last an hour and cost €4.50 more. From Petronell-Carnuntum station it is a 15-minute walk. - **Heidentor, the Roman arch in the middle of the countryside** (30 min · All ages · Free): What remains of a great 4th-century Roman arch, on the outskirts of the ancient city. It stands alone among cereal fields south of Petronell and is the image of Carnuntum. Access is free and it is always open. From the Roman quarter it is about 1.5 km: on foot, on a nextbike or by car, with a small car park beside it. - **Museum Carnuntinum, the treasure of the Roman city** (1 h · Adults and teenagers; with children, better after the Roman quarter · Included in the Carnuntum day ticket (€15)): The Roman city's museum is in a building that imitates a Roman villa, in the spa town of Bad Deutsch-Altenburg, 4 km from the Petronell quarter. It holds the best of what has come from the excavations: sculptures, gravestones, weapons, jewellery and coins. Enter with the same day ticket as the Roman quarter. At weekends there are guided tours in German at 11:00, 13:00, 14:00 and 15:00. From Bad Deutsch-Altenburg station it is about a 20-minute walk. - **Military town amphitheatre** (30 min · All ages · Free): The military town's amphitheatre, next to the legion's old camp, on the edge of Bad Deutsch-Altenburg. You can see the oval arena and the walls of the seating, which held several thousand spectators. It is free to enter, with no ticket. It is at Wiener Straße 52, between Petronell and the Museum Carnuntinum, so it fits on the way between the two. - **Hainburg, its walls and the Hungarian Gate** (1 h 30 · All ages · Free): Hainburg preserves almost all of its medieval wall, with its gates. The Ungartor, the Hungarian Gate, is the oldest: Romanesque, from about 1230. The small Fischertor, for pedestrians only, recalls the massacre of 1683, during the second Turkish siege, when almost the whole town died trying to flee through it; the street that leads down to it is called the Blutgasse. In the main square is the Haydnbrunnen: Joseph Haydn lived here as a child, from 1738 to 1740, with a relative who taught him music. Above the town, a path climbs to the ruin of the Schlossberg castle, with views of the Danube. - **Climb up the Braunsberg, the viewpoint over the Danube and Bratislava** (1 h 30 · Walkers with closed shoes; children who can walk · Free): The hill that closes Hainburg to the east drops in rock to the Danube. At the top is an open meadow with the best view in the area: the river, the Marchfeld plain and, on the other side, Bratislava. You climb on foot from the north of the village on signposted paths; allow an hour and a half round trip, with some slope. It is a good end to the day after Carnuntum. - **Haydn's birthplace in Rohrau** (45 min · Adults and teenagers interested in music · €8; children from age 6, students and seniors, €4.50; guided tour, €3.50 more): A single-storey country house with a reed roof, on Rohrau's main street, 10 km south of Carnuntum: Joseph Haydn was born here in 1732, and his brother Michael. After renovation it reopened in 2017 with a permanent exhibition on the family and a concert hall. It is open Tuesday to Sunday and public holidays from 10:00 to 17:00; it is closed from 2 November 2026 to 22 March 2027. It costs €8. Without a car it is difficult: bus 275 does not run on weekends or public holidays. ## Dónde comer - **Haydnstüberl** (Restaurant, Hainburg an der Donau, €€). Qué pedir: the weekday midday menu or a schnitzel in the courtyard in summer. - **Zum Goldenen Anker** (Restaurant, Hainburg an der Donau, €€). Qué pedir: the seasonal dish; in November, the Martinigansl, the roast St Martin's goose. ## Car-free: By train from Vienna's central station Carnuntum is an easy excursion without a car: the REX 7 leaves Wien Hauptbahnhof and drops you at Petronell-Carnuntum in about 45 minutes, without depending on the S-Bahn closure. Between the sites you get around on foot or on nextbike bikes, and the same train continues to Bad Deutsch-Altenburg and Hainburg. Only Haydn's house in Rohrau needs a car at weekends. Presupuesto orientativo: 60–110 € por persona y día. ### Dónde dormir without a car - **Hotel Marc Aurel** (Hotel, desde 58 € / night): The house A simple three-star hotel on Petronell's main street, of the Arion group. It is about 130 metres from Carnuntum's Roman quarter, so it is the bed closest to the ruins: you set out on foot in the morning before the groups. Downstairs it has a restaurant of home-style Austrian cooking and a bar. Rooms Singles, doubles, triples and quadruples, the latter useful for families. A double costs from €58 a night, according to its website. Wifi is free and you can check in at any time. Pets are admitted. Getting there Petronell-Carnuntum station, on the REX 7 from Wien Hauptbahnhof, is a quarter of an hour's walk away. By car you have parking. Hainburg is 8 km away and Bratislava about 30 minutes. - **Hotel Altes Kloster** (Hotel): The house A four-star hotel set in a former convent in Hainburg's historic centre, next to the Kulturfabrik and a few steps from the Danube. It mixes old walls with a designer interior. It belongs to the same group as the Marc Aurel in Petronell. Rooms There are singles, doubles, an accessible double, family rooms, studios and superiors. Check-in is at any time and pets are admitted. Where it is In the centre of Hainburg, five minutes' walk from the main square and the Ungartor. Carnuntum is 8 km away and Bratislava about 15 minutes by car; the hotel presents itself as a base for both and for Vienna, about 50 km away. Hainburg station, on the REX 7 line from Wien Hauptbahnhof, is close. ### Servicios - **REX 7 train, from Wien Hauptbahnhof to Carnuntum**: ÖBB regional train towards Wolfsthal · about 45 min to Petronell-Carnuntum · every 30 or 60 min · leaves from the central station, not affected by the S-Bahn closure - **nextbike bikes between the sites**: Hire bikes at the Roman quarter, the Museum Carnuntinum and the Petronell-Carnuntum and Bad Deutsch-Altenburg stations ## By car: By car on the A4 and the B9 By car Carnuntum is 35 minutes from Vienna and all the sites have free parking. The car lets you add, on the same day, Haydn's birthplace in Rohrau, the Braunsberg and Schloss Hof, on the other side of the Danube. Presupuesto orientativo: 70–130 € por persona y día. ### Dónde dormir if you're driving - **Hotel Marc Aurel** (Hotel, desde 58 € / night): The house A simple three-star hotel on Petronell's main street, of the Arion group. It is about 130 metres from Carnuntum's Roman quarter, so it is the bed closest to the ruins: you set out on foot in the morning before the groups. Downstairs it has a restaurant of home-style Austrian cooking and a bar. Rooms Singles, doubles, triples and quadruples, the latter useful for families. A double costs from €58 a night, according to its website. Wifi is free and you can check in at any time. Pets are admitted. Getting there Petronell-Carnuntum station, on the REX 7 from Wien Hauptbahnhof, is a quarter of an hour's walk away. By car you have parking. Hainburg is 8 km away and Bratislava about 30 minutes. - **Hotel Altes Kloster** (Hotel): The house A four-star hotel set in a former convent in Hainburg's historic centre, next to the Kulturfabrik and a few steps from the Danube. It mixes old walls with a designer interior. It belongs to the same group as the Marc Aurel in Petronell. Rooms There are singles, doubles, an accessible double, family rooms, studios and superiors. Check-in is at any time and pets are admitted. Where it is In the centre of Hainburg, five minutes' walk from the main square and the Ungartor. Carnuntum is 8 km away and Bratislava about 15 minutes by car; the hotel presents itself as a base for both and for Vienna, about 50 km away. Hainburg station, on the REX 7 line from Wien Hauptbahnhof, is close. ### Servicios - **Carnuntum car parks**: Free parking at each site, with coach spaces and an electric charging point next to the Roman quarter ## By plane: Fly to Vienna and take the train to Carnuntum Carnuntum is about 25 km east of Vienna-Schwechat airport (VIE), which has direct flights from Madrid, Barcelona and other Spanish cities. From the terminal you get there by hire car in about 20–25 minutes on the B9; without a car, go through Wien Hauptbahnhof (there are airport buses to the central station) and take the REX 7. From central Vienna it is 45 minutes by train. ### Dónde dormir if you're flying - **Hotel Marc Aurel** (Hotel, desde 58 € / night): The house A simple three-star hotel on Petronell's main street, of the Arion group. It is about 130 metres from Carnuntum's Roman quarter, so it is the bed closest to the ruins: you set out on foot in the morning before the groups. Downstairs it has a restaurant of home-style Austrian cooking and a bar. Rooms Singles, doubles, triples and quadruples, the latter useful for families. A double costs from €58 a night, according to its website. Wifi is free and you can check in at any time. Pets are admitted. Getting there Petronell-Carnuntum station, on the REX 7 from Wien Hauptbahnhof, is a quarter of an hour's walk away. By car you have parking. Hainburg is 8 km away and Bratislava about 30 minutes. - **Hotel Altes Kloster** (Hotel): The house A four-star hotel set in a former convent in Hainburg's historic centre, next to the Kulturfabrik and a few steps from the Danube. It mixes old walls with a designer interior. It belongs to the same group as the Marc Aurel in Petronell. Rooms There are singles, doubles, an accessible double, family rooms, studios and superiors. Check-in is at any time and pets are admitted. Where it is In the centre of Hainburg, five minutes' walk from the main square and the Ungartor. Carnuntum is 8 km away and Bratislava about 15 minutes by car; the hotel presents itself as a base for both and for Vienna, about 50 km away. Hainburg station, on the REX 7 line from Wien Hauptbahnhof, is close. ### Servicios - **REX 7 train, from Wien Hauptbahnhof to Carnuntum**: ÖBB regional train towards Wolfsthal · about 45 min to Petronell-Carnuntum · every 30 or 60 min · leaves from the central station, not affected by the S-Bahn closure ## As a family: A Roman city you walk through Carnuntum is one of the history visits that works best with children: the reconstructed houses and baths can be walked through inside, with real kitchens, beds and bathrooms, and then the Heidentor and the amphitheatre are open countryside. Under-6s do not pay and for ages 6 to 18 admission costs €8. ### What works best The Roman quarter: the House of Lucius, the villa and the baths, with underfloor heating on view The military town's amphitheatre, free, for imagining the gladiators The Heidentor, by nextbike across the flat The climb up the Braunsberg with children who can already walk an hour ### Where to sleep Hotel Marc Aurel, with triple and quadruple rooms Hotel Altes Kloster, with family rooms ### Where to eat Haydnstüberl, with a courtyard in summer Zum Goldenen Anker, beside the river ### Bear in mind There is little shade: in summer, a hat, water and a morning visit The park closes from mid-November to mid-March The public guided tours are in German ### Qué hacer as a family - The reconstructed Roman quarter of Carnuntum - Heidentor, the Roman arch in the middle of the countryside - Museum Carnuntinum, the treasure of the Roman city - Military town amphitheatre - Hainburg, its walls and the Hungarian Gate - Climb up the Braunsberg, the viewpoint over the Danube and Bratislava ## Consejos ### Bring water and a hat in summer The Roman quarter and the Heidentor are in the sun, with hardly any trees. ### One ticket for the day It is valid for the Roman quarter and the Museum Carnuntinum on the same day; the amphitheatre and the Heidentor are free. ### Midweek in Hainburg The Goldener Anker closes Tuesday to Thursday in winter; the Haydnstüberl serves lunch. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### How do you get from Vienna to Carnuntum without a car? On the REX 7 train from Wien Hauptbahnhof towards Wolfsthal, about 45 minutes to Petronell-Carnuntum, and a 15-minute walk to the Roman quarter. ### How much does admission cost? €15 for adults, €14 reduced and €8 for ages 6 to 18; under-6s get in free. It is valid for the Roman quarter and the Museum Carnuntinum on the same day. ### When is it open? Daily from 9:00 to 17:00 until 15 November 2026; the 2027 season starts on 13 March. ### How much time do you need? A day: two hours for the Roman quarter, one for the museum and the rest for the Heidentor, the amphitheatre and Hainburg. ### Are there guided tours in Spanish? The public ones are in German, last an hour and cost €4.50 extra. There are panels and audioguides for visiting on your own. ### Can you go with children? Yes, it works very well: the reconstructed houses can be walked through inside and under-6s do not pay.